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The paper examines the economic performance of a large number of African countries using an international comparable data set and the latest technique for analysis. The paper focuses on growth in total factor productivity and its decomposition into technical change and efficiency change components. The analysis is undertaken using the data envelopment analysis (DEA). The present study uses data of 16 countries over the period . It was found that, globally, during that period, total factor productivity has experienced a positive evolution in sampled countries. This good performance of the agricultural sector was due to good progress in technical efficiency rather than technical progress. The region suffered a regression in productivity in the 1970s, and made some progress during the 1980s and 1990s. The study also highlights the fact that technical change has been the main constraint of achievement of high levels of total factor productivity during the reference period in sub-Saharan Africa. Contrariwise, in Maghreb countries, technological change has been the main driving force of productivity growth. Finally, the results indicate that institutional factors as well as agro-ecological factors are important determinants of agricultural productivity growth.Re´sume´: L'article analyse la performance e´conomique d'un grand nombre de pays africains, en se servant d'une se´rie de donne´es internationales comparables et de la toute dernie`re me´thode d'analyse. Il se penche sur la croissance de la productivite´globale des facteurs de production et sa de´composition en deux volets: e´volution technique et e´volution de l'efficience. L'analyse repose sur la me´thode dite de Data Envelopment Analysis ou DEA (permettant de mesurer l'efficience ap artir de donne´es re´elles). La pre´sente e´tude utilise les donne´es de 16 pays sur la pe´riode 1970-2001. Il en ressort que, d'une manie`re ge´ne´rale, la productivite´globale des facteurs de production ont affiche´une bonne e´volution dans les pays de l'e´chantillon au cours de la pe´riode conside´re´e. Cette bonne performance du secteur agricole e´tait plutoˆt attribuable a`une bonne progression de l'efficience technique et non a`des progre`s techniques. La productivite´de la re´gion a re´gresse´dans les anne´es 70, avant de remonter le´ge`rement dans les anne´es 80 et 90. L'e´tude souligne e´galement que l'e´volution technique a e´te´le principal obstacle a`la re´alisation de niveaux e´leve´s de productivite´des facteurs en Afrique subsaharienne durant la pe´riode conside´re´e. Par contre, dans les pays du Maghreb, l'e´volution technologique a e´te´le principal moteur de la croissance de la productivite´. Enfin, les re´sultats indiquent que les facteurs institutionnels et agro-e´cologiques jouent un roˆle de´terminant dans la croissance de la productivite´agricole.

This paper uses survey data to examine the technical efficiency and productivity potential of cocoa farmers in West and Central Africa. Separate stochastic frontier models are estimated for farmers in Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d'Ivoire, along with a stochastic metaproduction frontier to obtain alternative estimates for the technical efficiencies of farmers in the different countries. The mean productivity potential of cocoa farmers is also estimated, by using a decomposition result applied to both the national and the metaproduction frontiers. The determinants of technical efficiency are assessed to identify the reasons for differences across countries.